FREE TICKET

Last night I dreamed

that I had the right to be happy.

I dreamed that happiness

was given like a ticket

to some amusement park,

where I could get into

every ride for free.

I could get on every ride

without wondering

how long it would last,

without feeling

that it was only

a fleeting moment.

I didn't have to wonder

when they were going to take away

my right to stay

for as long as I needed

to keep feeling

what I was feeling.

There were no guards.

Everyone was on break.

It was just me,

holding the feeling in my hand,

unable to understand

what I was feeling.

I don't know when I'll return

to this place.

It was as if I had never

won a ticket

to this secret park before.

I didn't know

which ride to choose first.

I didn't even know

how it was supposed to feel,

because it was the first time

no one came to take it away from me

or told me

how I was supposed to do it.

And it was a little frightening.

There was no coherent explanation,

no human explanation,

for what was happening inside me.

For the first time,

no one was taking it away from me.

For the first time,

I was being given something

without being asked

for anything in return.

A ticket that isn't for sale,

A ticket that cannot be given away.

Let me keep sleeping.